BI Excel 2013 Masses

Can Microsoft accompany BI to the masses if the Excel 2013 masses can't get BI?

Microsoft's carrot-and-stick admission advised to move users to Microsoft-preferred Office SKUs is continuing. The latest accumulation to ascertain new and added akin Office 2013 licensing changes is the Excel data-analytics crowd.

Excel has become a cornerstone of Microsoft's business-intelligence strategy. With Excel 2010, Microsoft fabricated PowerPivot -- one of its prime data-analytics technologies -- accessible for use by anyone with any copy of Excel 2010 by installing the PowerPivot for Excel add-in.

But with Excel 2013, the latest adaptation of Microsoft's spreadsheet program, alone those with the Office Professional Plus adaptation of the new Office will accept abounding admission to Excel 2013's BI capabilities.

The Excel/Microsoft BI association is none too blessed about Microsoft's accommodation to bind abounding PowerPivot functionality, as is axiomatic in the comments from assorted blog posts on the topic. 

A few best ones from posts on PowerPivotPro.com and DataPigTechnologies.com:

• "So again if you demand PowerPivot, you stick with 2010 and get it free! Hrrrmmmm that doesn’t assume like a acceptable way to advertise 2013."
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• "So abundant for BI for the masses, I guess. Large association accept BI solutions anyway, but baby companies aback had admission to a abundant BI solution, and after sharepoint, you had to await on everybody haviing the newest adaptation of Office."
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• They are accomplishing aggregate in their ability to accomplish the non-subscription artefact unappealing. I’m afraid they don’t accommodate a chargeless accumulation of dog applesauce in every box."

Ouch.

Update: What's Microsoft adage about this latest licensing revelation? I asked and an Office aggregation agent and got this revised (as of February 19) statement:

"People can get PowerPivot and Ability View with one of the afterward options:

• Office Professional Plus 2013 via Open, Select or Enterprise Agreement;
• Excel 2013 standalone via Open or Select;
• Office 365 ProPlus via Office 365 back it becomes accessible 2/27/13.

"After introducing these capabilities broadly in our 2010 releases, we begin that businesses were the primary users of these avant-garde business intelligence appearance in Excel, so we’ve fabricated them accessible via the licensing programs businesses already use. Businesses can get these capabilities with a minimum of 5 Office licenses via best licensing programs or with an alone Office 365 ProPlus subscription."

A cardinal of commenters on above blogs acclaimed that unless every Excel user has abounding admission to all the PowerPivot functionality, Microsoft's BI technology has beneath of a adventitious for abounding acceptance. Baby business users may not be accommodating or able to acquirement Office Professional Plus, which is accessible to aggregate licensees and will be allotment of the Office 365 Baby Business Premium Service (but not the cheaper Office 365 Baby Business one). And acceptance are awful absurd to accept admission to the Professional Plus SKU, either, some accept noted, which could absolute the basin of entering the workforce who are already abreast with Microsoft's BI technology.

Microsoft is set to barrage the business versions of its latest Office 365/new Office offerings on February 27. The aggregation is webcasting the basic barrage (registration is required).

Microsoft admiral accustomed backward aftermost anniversary that users purchasing all standalone Office 2013 artefact are accountant to use it on one PC only. (In added words, the authorization is non-transferrable.) Microsoft is alms users who demand the new Office the appropriate to install Office 2013 on assorted computers, but alone if they acquirement Office 365 Home Premium, a cable version, rather than the one-time, perpetually accountant Office 2013 product.

Update: Microsoft Best Valuable Professional Chris Webb says it best in his attack to anatomize the PowerPivot  licensing shift: "My arch hurts! All these editions and licences… it would be nice if it was beneath complicated."